Quick-serve restaurant owners are some of the busiest people you may ever know. In addition to sales, food quality, staffing, safety, regulations, marketing, staying ahead of the competition, and inventory management, quick-serve restaurant owners have to keep track of financial performance,...

Like a tropical storm, many different elements came together in 2013 to create a standout year for Fiesta Restaurant Group, parent company to fast-casual brands Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana. After years of climbing sales and store counts, tinkering with the store design and menu, and strategic...

Craig Bernstein knew he wanted to be a restaurateur as early as the sixth grade, and in the summer of 2013, he transformed those childhood ambitions into a reality with the debut of Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen.
Named in honor of Bernstein’s father, Dr. Robert Bernstein, the Chicago-based eatery is a...

Thanks to British ex-pat Nathan Coe and his Nantucket Pasty Co., the pasty is becoming a household term—and an oft-enjoyed culinary item—in the seaside community of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Leveraging the talents of Culinary Institute of America–trained pastry chef Josh Smerdon, the two-year-old...

Charlotte, North Carolina–based Bojangles’ may fall into the chicken quick-service category, but as any executive, operator, employee, or loyal fan will tell you, it’s all about the biscuit.
And for good reason: The item is included or featured in nearly 80 of the brand’s menu items, a fact that...

Q: Everyone says word-of-mouth marketing is the best form of marketing, but how do you actually create it?
A: Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing has always been very powerful, but today’s technology and culture make it a particularly ripe time to harvest its power. The primary way to get the most out of...

Earlier this year, research firm The NPD Group confirmed what many in the quick-service industry have known for years: The breakfast wars are real, and there’s more at stake then a Waffle Taco or a better cup of coffee. NPD’s “A Look into the Future of Foodservice” report found that the quick-...

It’s hard for aficionados in any field to avoid the desert-island question. For music mavens, it boils down to, “Which album would you take with you, if you could only take one?” Movie lovers have to decide which film they’d want to watch, possibly in perpetuity—a question that bears careful...

Chicken Salad Chick held its second annual franchise owner conference last week at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center in Auburn, Alabama. The awards banquet, which was held Monday night, included the presentation of several awards in various categories.

MonkeyMedia Software, provider of the number-one cloud platform for takeout, delivery, and catering, announces it has entered into a new agreement with Cosi, Inc., a national fast-casual restaurant chain.

Cosi will deploy Monkey as a technology tool to support its existing restaurant...

Del Taco Holdings Inc., the second largest Mexican-American quick-service chain by units in the United States, operating restaurants under the name Del Taco, and Levy Acquisition Corp. (LAC) have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Del Taco will become the sole direct subsidiary...

Zaxby’s, known for its chicken fingers and wings, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It started in March 1990 as a local restaurant serving the college community of Statesboro, Georgia. Today, it is a rapidly expanding chain, with more than 670 corporate-owned and franchise locations...

It’s only fitting that a 35-year-old Southern barbecue franchise would want to have a presence in a state that is home to the “BBQ Capital of the World.” That’s why Florida-based Woody’s Bar-B-Q is proud to announce the opening of its newest restaurant in Murfreesboro, Tennessee – marking the...

Domino's Pizza is giving customers a new way to place their order: from the convenience of their own wrist. Domino’s customers can now place and track their order via Pebble and Android Wear smartwatches.

This marks the first time that Domino’s ordering is available on smartwatch...

Like much of the rest of the economy, the 2008 economic meltdown brought a massive slow-down to the quick-service franchise industry. The combination of tightfisted money lenders and general economic uncertainty put franchise businesses in a near impossible position when it came to accessing...

What can I possibly tell you about potatoes, dear quick-serve industry professional, that you don’t already know? It’s not as though you’re unacquainted with America’s favorite starch. You may even know that it’s the world’s fourth-largest food crop, trailing behind only rice, corn, and wheat,...

What can I possibly tell you about potatoes, dear quick-serve industry professional, that you don’t already know? It’s not as though you’re unacquainted with America’s favorite starch. You may even know that it’s the world’s fourth-largest food crop, trailing behind only rice, corn, and wheat,...

Having started as a sandwich maker with Subway when he was 18 years old, Gurpreet Singh has spent nearly half his life in the quick-service industry. Now a Checkers franchisee, Singh has spent time in every quick-serve job imaginable: line worker, manager, general manager, and, today, franchisee....

When Lori Newcomb found out she had stage III ovarian cancer last year, she made it her mission to learn more about the disease and help other women fighting the same battle. She sat down with her husband, Chris Newcomb, cofounder and CEO of Southern quick-service chain Newk’s Eatery, and together...

While the fast-casual category continues to be the fastest-growing industry sector, the road in 2015 will be bumpy. We will see constant change and challenges around every corner. For industry leaders, there are issues that will keep even the most seasoned executive awake at night.
Here is my top...